Willem Bosman (12 January 1672 – after 1703) was a merchant in the service of the Dutch West India Company, spending most of his time in the Dutch Gold Coast.
Bosman was born in Utrecht. Although he sailed to the Gold Coast as an apprentice when he was only 16 years of age, he managed to climb the ranks and eventually became head merchant (Dutch: opperkoopman). In 1702 he sailed back to the Dutch Republic, and little is known of his later life.
Bosman is best known for his description of the Gold Coast titled Nauwkeurige beschrijving van de Guinese Goud- Tand- en Slavekust (An accurate description of the Guinean Gold, Ivory and Slave Coast) published in 1704.[1] This document remained the most authoritative description of the area for more than a century and provided significant detail of the Komenda Wars in which Bosman took part. He described in detail the functioning of the slave trade and commented of Fida that "markets of men are here kept in the same manner as those of beasts are with us."[2] The book was a major source for Ghanaian historians in the twentieth century and a facsimile of the 1705 English translation was republished in 1907. at the instigation of the colonialist, Alfred Lewis Jones.[3]
The Ghanaian surname Bossman is thought to originate from the children Bosman had with his black mistresses.
^Wilks, Ivor (1968). "Bosman New and Costly". The Journal of African History. 9 (1): 164–166. doi:10.1017/S0021853700008434. ISSN 0021-8537. JSTOR 179928.
^Woolman, John (1837). A Journal of the Life, Gospel Labours, and Christian Experiences of that Faithful Minister of Jesus Christ, John Woolman. Philadelphia: T E Chapman. p. 233.
^Bosman, Willem (1907). A new and accurate description of the coast of Guinea, divided into the Gold, the Slave, and the Ivory coasts(PDF). London: Printed for Sir Alfred Jones by Ballantyne.
WillemBosman (12 January 1672 – after 1703) was a merchant in the service of the Dutch West India Company, spending most of his time in the Dutch Gold...
Jean-Marc BosmanBosman Brewery, a Polish brewery Bosman language, a language of Papua New Guinea Bosman's potto or just potto, after WillemBosman who described...
It is found in tropical West Africa. It is also known as Bosman's potto, after WillemBosman, who described the species in 1704. It is the type species...
der Afrikaensche Gewesten. Amsterdam: Jacob van Meurs. pp. 494/495. Bosman, Willem (1704). "Beschryving van Rio Formosa, Anders gesegt de Benin.". Nauwkeurige...
flight of three Boer women, who were soon found and rescued by his host WillemBosman. Days after rejoining De la Rey's commando he had visions of members...
descriptions of the spotted hyena by Europeans come from WillemBosman and Peter Kolbe. Bosman, a Dutch tradesman who worked for the Dutch West India Company...
increased with the establishment of a trading post in Offra in 1660. WillemBosman writes in his Nauwkeurige beschrijving van de Guinese Goud- Tand- en...
surname in Ghana, and ultimately derives from the Dutch slave trader WillemBosman. Other Ghanaian surnames derived from Dutch names include Bartels, Van...
Astell – A Fair Way with Dissenters and their Patrons (reply to Defoe) WillemBosman – Nauwkeurige beschrijving van de Guinese Goud- Tand- en Slavekust (A...
chief that received the remuneration paid to the abrakree. In 1702, WillemBosman confirmed Dapper’s account on the abrakrees of Axim. He comments in...
the enthronement by the English of Takyi Kuma as the King of Eguafo. WillemBosman was the primary chronicler of the Komenda Wars, being an active participant...
trade due to their capture of northern Brazil from the Portuguese. WillemBosman writes in his Nauwkeurige beschrijving van de Guinese Goud- Tand- en...
17th century. The omission of a description of Asafo companies in WillemBosman's Nauwkeurige beschrijving (1703) leads academic Harvey Feinberg to the...
multiple occasions and during negotiations with the Dutch commander, WillemBosman, the Dutch commander attempted to shoot Cabess but missed. With the...
The vernacular name "royal antelope" is based on a statement made by WillemBosman, a merchant associated with the Dutch West India Company, that the antelope...
compiling information from travel books by John Atkins, Jean Barbot, WillemBosman, Theodor de Bry, Francis Moore, Jean-Baptiste Labat, Godefroi Loyer...
most important document on the Gold Coast until it was surpassed by WillemBosman's Nauwkeurige beschrijving van de Guinese Goud- Tand- en Slavekust (1703)...
Huguenot Philip de Royan in 1699 by Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel. The first generation of the Bosman family settled on the farm in 1798. The Lelienfontein...
a long-established prize for Afrikaans literature; The Herman Charles Bosman Prize for English literature; The Recht Malan Prize for non-fiction; The...
Badenhorst Daylin Mitchell Karl Willem Du Pr? Le Roux Nicholas Myburgh Tim Brauteseth Jan de Villiers Gillion Bosman Jade Miller Crezane Bosch Eleanore...
Hofmeyr, Prime Minister of South Africa. (d. 1948) 1 May – Elizabeth Johanna Bosman, author under the pen name Marie Linde (d. 1963) 23 August – Andries Albertus...
detailed description of this journey was included as an appendix to WillemBosman's Nauwkeurige beschrijving van de Guinese Goud- Tand- en Slavekust (1703)...
1111/j.1468-229X.1994.tb01587.x. JSTOR 24421929. Bosman, Machiel (2016). De roofkoning: prins Willem III en de invasie van Engeland (The robber king:...
Global Information